White House won't block short-term debt-limit increase

1/22/13 4:23 PM EST

The White House will not oppose a House Republican bill to raise the debt limit for three months -- despite President Barack Obama’s statement last week that a short-term extension “does severe damage” to the economy.

The administration said in a statement that the bill “introduces unnecessary complications, needlessly perpetuating uncertainty in the Nation's fiscal system,” but it welcomes the GOP effort to remove the immediate threat of default.

The bill “indicates that congressional Republicans have backed off an insistence on holding the Nation's economy hostage to extract drastic cuts in Medicare, education, and other programs that middle-class families depend on,” according to the “statement of administration policy.” “For these reasons, the Administration would not oppose a short-term solution to the debt limit and looks forward to continuing to work with both the House and the Senate to increase certainty and stability for the economy.”

The statement is a reversal of sorts from the president’s remarks during a press conference last week, when he was asked about a short-term renewal.

“We shouldn’t be doing this on a one to three-month timeframe,” Obama said. “Why would we do that? This is the United States of America… . What, we can’t manage our affairs in such a way that we pay our bills and we provide some certainty in terms of how we pay our bills?”

Obama added: “I’m not going to have a monthly or every-three-months conversation about whether or not we pay our bills. Because that in and of itself does severe damage. Even the threat of default hurts our economy. It’s hurting our economy as we speak. We shouldn’t be having that debate.”

When Obama made those statements, there was little indication the Republicans would back away from their debt-limit threats in less than a week. The White House doesn’t view the short-term extension as optimal, but it offers a quick solution without the kind of protracted negotiations that can stoke economic uncertainty.